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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pop · hand · pitch · race · mouse · wound

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pop — music
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pop — soda
  12. race — the arms race
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. race — a contest
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. hand — help
  17. wound — an injury
  18. race — humankind

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com